• Issue 154 - May 2013

    01 May 2013

    GREETINGS!

     

    Hi everyone, and welcome to the May issue of the Shanville Monthly. I'm on my honeymoon at the moment, enjoying the ancient ruins, beaches, modern cities, and natural wonders of Mexico, Guatemala and Belize (you can check out some photos and updates on my Facebook page by CLICKING HERE or on Twitter by CLICKING HERE), but thanks to the wonders of modern technology I'm still able to pull together all the latest Darren Shan news and deliver it to you guys on schedule -- hurrah!! This is the month when my mini-book Hagurosan goes on sale in the UK and Ireland -- it's a sweet little tale, beautifully illustrated, so please do check it out if you can.You can find out more about that below, along with all the latest happenings and tour updates in the world of Darren Shan.

     

     

    HAGUROSAN

     

     

    I am releasing a short book on May 15th called Hagurosan. Adapted from a short story I wrote way back in 2002, this is a sweet tale about mountain spirits, inspired by something that really happened to me in Japan. Publishers Barrington Stoke have done a beautiful job with the story, adding lots of incredibly detailed interior artwork by Zack McLaughlin. You can find out a bit more about the book, as well as read the first chapter more than a month ahead of its release, by CLICKING HERE. I'm not sure if Hagurosan will be as widely available in bookshops as most of my other books. If you can't find it in your local shop, please ask the staff if they can order it in for you. Otherwise you can buy it through Amazon UK by CLICKING HERE. (Fans in other countries, please note that you can probably order it through Amazon UK too, but shipping costs will probably be quite high.)

     

     

    ZOM-B CITY REVIEWS

     

    There have been a nice few reviews of Zom-B City, from both sides of the Atlantic, and most have been very positive -- phew!!! You can check out what the critics are saying by CLICKING HERE. As always I publish every review that I can find, the good, the bad and the ugly!!

     

    Zom-B City is now on sale in the UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. You should be able to find it in a bookshop near you -- if you don't see it on the shelves, please ask a member of staff for help. Or you can order or download it online.


     

    A CITY OF AUDIO BOOKS

     

    For fans who like audiobooks, please take note that Zom-B City is also now available to download in audio format both in the UK, read by Zawe Ashton, and in the USA, read by Emma Galvin.

     

    To download it in the UK: http://www.audiogo.com/uk/zom-b-city-darren-shan-gid-1021677

     

    To download it in the USA: http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=mp_nr_2_1?asin=B00C314096

     

    Also, the book for adult readers that I released last year, Lady Of The Shades, is now available in unabridged audio format in the UK and Ireland, read by William Hope. You can buy it on CD through Amazon UK, or download it if you prefer. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lady-of-the-Shades-Unabridged/dp/B00AM9D9LQ/ref=tmm_aud_title_0

     

     

    A DELAYED HUNGARIAN BIRTH

     

     

    It's been a while coming, but my Hungarian fans now have cause to celebrate, because Birth Of A Killer, the first of the 4 books in The Saga Of Larten Crepsley, is going on sale in Hungary on May 31st!! I've been to Hungary a couple of times on tour, and I know that you guys are some of my most loyal fans anywhere in the world, so I'm delighted to finally be able to share Mr Crepsley's past with you! You can see the fantastic cover for the book above, and you can read a bit more about it on the Mora site by CLICKING HERE.

     

     

    ZOM-B ANGELS ART

     

    Zom-B Angels, the fourth book in the series, goes on sale in the UK on June 20th, and in the USA on July 9th (though it will probably start appearing in stores across the States earlier than that). This is when we start to get answers to many of the questions thrown up by the first 3 books -- where have the zombies come from? How did they spread across the globe so quickly? How do Mr Dowling, the mutants and Owl Man fit in with it all? It's not the most action-packed book of the series, but it is packed full of answers, it introduces us to lots of important new characters, and it also throws up a whole host of new questions -- including how much of what we learn in this book can we actually believe?!? I think it's going to provoke a lot of debate among fans -- at least, I hope it is!!!! As always, Warren Pleece is on hand to provide gorgeous interior art for the book, and here are three of his drawings for you to drool over while you're waiting for the book to arrive. I'll be revealing another trio of images next month, so make sure you return for more! If you would like to pre-order the book, you can do so at your local bookseller, or else you can do it through Amazon UK or if you live in the States then the main Amazon site.

     

    Kickboxing, Zom-B style!!!

     

    Grub's up!!!!!

     

    A refreshing dip -- or is B's goose being cooked?!?

     

     

    INSPIRATIONAL STUFF!!

     

    In January, when I was on tour in the USA, I gave a speech to a group of librarians in which I talked about some of the inspirations for my books, in particular Zom-B. It went down well, and trade publication Kirkus have now published it in their most recent edition, so you guys can share it too. Enjoy! https://www.kirkusreviews.com/features/where-zom-bs-come/#continue_reading_post

     

     

    UK MANGA

     

    The Saga Of Darren Shan was adapted into a manga in Japan several years ago, and has been translated and published in lots of countries around the world since then. The UK schedule hit a snag (it's a long story) and stalled at volume 7. Everything has now been sorted out, and the remaining volumes are finally being released in the UK and Ireland. Volume 8: Allies of the Night, hit shelves in the UK and Ireland in December, and Volume 9: Killers of the Dawn and Volume 10: The Lake Of Souls went on sale in January. Volume 11: Lord of the Shadows went on sale in March. That just leaves Volume 12: Sons Of Destiny which goes on sale on June 6th 2013.


    American fans -- all 12 volumes are on sale already in the States. As in the UK, they aren't as widely available as my books, so if you don't see them on the shelves of your local bookseller, either ask the staff to order them for you, or you can get them on Amazon. This is the link to Volume One, and you can find the rest from there.

     

     

    COMPETITION

     

    http://www.zom-b.co.uk/

     

    There's a great competition currently running over on the Zom-B UK site, but you'll need to act swiftly, as the closing date is May 5th!One lucky winner is going to get their hands on a HUGE Zom-B City poster -- it's from the batch of posters which were used in train stations to advertise the release of the book. The winner will also receive signed copies of the first 3 books in the series. To enter, visit the site by CLICKING HERE and then have a look in the WIN section.

     

    Because the site is run by my British publishers, I'm afraid the competition is only open to residents of the UK or Ireland. And you need to be under 18 years of age. My apologies to my older and more globally spread-out Shansters!!!

     

     

    UK - DEMONATA REBORN

     

    HarperCollins, my UK publishers for The Demonata, have decided to re-release the series with brand new covers. They've gone for a VERY different look this time round, and I'm intrigued to see how all ten covers are going to work out! The new editions of the first two books will go on sale in the UK on July 4th, with the rest to follow over the space of the following year. And here are the covers for the first two little monsters -- enjoy!!

     

     

     

     

    MAY EVENTS

     

    I am doing a single public event in May, on Sunday May 26th at 4.00pm, as part of the Dublin Writers Festival. Please take special note of that start time, as it was originally scheduled for 3.00pm, and that time has been listed in some of the promotional material, but it has been changed and the correct start time is 4.00pm. I will be reading some extracts from a few of the Zom-B books, answering questions for the audience, and signing books afterwards. As always, there are no limits on how many of my books you can have signed. Please come and join in the fun if you can -- this will be my only event of the summer in Dublin. The venue only holds 80 people, so my advice is to book swiftly! You can book tickets by CLICKING HERE.

     

    I am also doing a one-off schools event in May, to tie in with the release of Hagurosan. This will be at Bolingbroke Academy in Clapham on Friday May 17th.

     

     

    SUMMER EVENTS IN IRELAND AND THE UK

     

    I'm going to do a few public events in Ireland and the UK over the course of the summer.

     

    First, as explained above, on Sunday 26th May I will be appearing at the Dublin Writers Festival.

     

    I will be returning to the Listowel Writers' Week on Sunday June 2nd, at 12.30pm. http://writersweek.ie/

     

    In Scotland I will be appearing at the Borders Book Festival in Melrose on Sunday June 16th at 1.30pm. You can book tickets by CLICKING HERE.

     

    From June 20th to 23rd, I'll be going on a short tour to promote the release of Zom-B Angels, which will take in the following:

     

    Thursday June 20th -- 9.45am -- School event -- Costello School, Basingstoke.

    Thursday June 20th -- 2.15pm -- School Event -- Bishops Challenor School, Basingstoke.

    Thursday June 20th -- 4.30pm -- Public Signing -- Waterstones Salisbury, 7-9 High Street, Salisbury.

     

    Friday June 21st -- 9.00am -- School event -- Norton Hill School, Midsomer Norton, Somerset.

    Friday June 21st -- 1.30pm -- School event -- Merchants' Academy, Bristol.

    Friday June 21st -- 7.30pm -- Public event -- Bristol Central Library, College Green, Bristol.

     

    Saturday June 22nd -- 11.00am -- Public signing -- Waterstones Newport, 159 Commercial Street, Newport.

    Saturday June 22nd -- 2.00pm -- Public signing -- Waterstones Cardiff, 2a The Hayes, Cardiff.

     

    Sunday June 23rd -- 12.00pm -- Public signing -- Waterstones Swansea, The Old Carlton Cinema, 17 Oxford Street, Swansea.

     

    Then in Ireland on Wednesday 10th July I will be heading to Bantry to do an event at the West Cork Writers Festival at 2.30pm.
    http://www.westcorkmusic.ie/literaryfestival/programme/detail/darren-shan-unveils-his-radical-new-zom-b-series

     

    And in August, of course, I'll be heading to Edinburgh for my 14th Festival appearance in a row, before embarking on a full-on tour (at this moment I honestly have no idea where) in late September and early October when the Zom-B Baby is released.

     

    There will be more details about all of the above events in upcoming issues of the Shanville Monthly, so make sure you keep checking back!


     

    IT'S A WRAP

     

    And that's it for May. As I said at the start, I'm still on honeymoon, and will be until the middle of the month, but I'll be keeping in touch online and posting some more photos and updates as the holiday enters its final stages. I'll also be keeping abreast of all the latest updates and news, and copying you guys in whenever possible. I'll be back here at the start of June. Until then, all my bloody best, Darren Shan. x x x

     

    Follow Darren Shan on Facebook and Twitter. He also has a (very rarely updated!) YouTube page.